Billy Donovan Ball Quotations

It was a great college basketball game with both teams going back and forth and they were able to take the lead on a play. We got Lee a pretty good shot and if he makes it, we're up by one. It was a little bit short. I thought it had a great chance to go in.

It was a good win for us. Vanderbilt is a very good basketball team. Vanderbilt is a very difficult team to play against. The biggest thing is that our basketball team is still learning. Vanderbilt did some things to us at first where we had to settle in and we picked it up, certainly in the second half, but the first 10 minutes were tough.

It was a great, great college basketball game. Both teams had a chance to win. I think Arkansas is as talented as any team in the league. They have more experience, much more size and physicality than we do.

It was a back-and-forth basketball game. Both teams had a chance to win, but give Arkansas credit. They were able to find a way to come out with a victory.

It was a courageous win for our basketball team.

You can't get many assists if you don't shoot the ball well. I thought our player movement in the first half at times was poor.

With the age limit, I think you're going to continually make college basketball very young. Some kids handle it better than others. ... It makes it very challenging, very, very, very difficult.

I didn't think that Vanderbilt's game plan was to come in and back off Corey. I didn't think that Corey was being left open on purpose, I think it was through our ball movement. He got some looks, and he knocked them down.

I've often said the greatest equalizer in college basketball is the 3-point line. They outscored us by 12 from the 3-point line. Our inability to limit them to one shot and inability to guard the 3-point line cost us. Anytime a team can come into your building and shoot 53 percent from the field and 47 percent from the 3-point line, you have to have a very, very good night on offense.

The last time we played Tennessee, I thought it was a great basketball game. Both teams played well. It was a tie score with 20 seconds to go. Both teams played a pretty balanced game. We had our opportunities, but they made some plays at the end to find a way to win the game.

What they've been able to do this year is great for basketball. Most teams don't get a chance to experience what they've been able to experience. In this tournament, they were able to inspire a lot of people. There was no resentment on our team for feeling like they got all the attention or we got slighted.

What they've been able to do this year is great for basketball.

I think what George Mason has done this NCAA tournament has been a milestone and a breakthrough in college basketball. There's been so many programs that have been close. ... I just think in my opinion right now, when you talk about the word 'mid-major' or you talk about the word 'major,' there's no more of that to me. I think those days are over with.

Corey had a very good game shooting the basketball.

If you look at our last four to six games, everybody knew it was going to be the toughest part and stretch of our schedule. Our basketball team, when we had all that early success, I don't know if we've played against teams as talented as we're playing against now.

We've had some good quality wins on the road at Providence and Miami, but our guys still feel like they have an enormous amount to prove. The mindset of our basketball team is we feel like going against Georgia is a lot to prove.

This game was all about the 3-point line and our ability to guard it. They made very, very timely 3-point shots. ... The great equalizer in college basketball is the 3-point line. It's the No. 1 stat I look at.

I'm not even worried about that. I don't even focus on that. I don't talk about that. That's completely out of our hands. That's the selection committee. And that has to do with us winning basketball games.

I'm fine with them. I think we're a basketball team where different players have stepped up at different times.

I got on them because our thought process going into the game was go inside first and then come back out. We were letting the ball sometimes go on the perimeter with the ball never touching the paint, and I think South Alabama wanted us to do that early in the game.

As a coach, I can't put the ball in the hole for them. But what I can try to do is put them in the best position to take advantage of the talent level they have that they can make plays ... Right now, we have a bunch of guys that are unproven in that area so I'm going to try to eliminate any focus on them worrying about scoring.

That's the one thing that's been great about our basketball teams over the years -- they've earned their way in. Now, we've got to make something happen.

The second half was a back-and-forth basketball game. Give Arkansas credit. They made some plays and their kids played hard and I thought it was a great college basketball game that both teams had a chance to win at times.

I thought our basketball team, it was a great lesson for them. The great equalizer in college basketball is the three-point shot.

We missed so many easy baskets around the rim at first. We did a much better job in the second half of getting the ball inside and rebounding. As a coaching staff, we have to keep our guys upbeat and not let them get frustrated.

I'm happy for Jordan. He's gotten a lot better as a basketball player, as I knew he would. He's a hard-working kid.

I was getting frustrated watching balls go up from the three-point line, when those guys are standing 1-on-1 in the post with a guy 6-6 guarding them. It's hard sometimes. I'm constantly preaching to (Green and guard Lee Humphrey), 'When you're open, let it go.' Sometimes you have to change your thought processes.

We thought the three-point line would be critical at both ends. It's the great equalizer in college basketball and we held them without one for (nearly) 35 minutes. And I thought Lee Humphrey shot the ball very well.

Sometimes it's crazy what these games come down to. It's a play here, a bounce of the ball there. I've been on both sides of it.

What happened is significant in basketball in the state of Florida, is significant to the University of Florida. To be a part of it, as I am, I'll remember this for the rest of my life. I'll remember these 10 years, in terms of trying to build things and create a level of consistency.

You just don't see a lot of players like Glen Davis in college basketball.

As a basketball team you have to go through it. They need it. The game came down to our inexperience on the basketball court to their experience.

I've said it all along about this team, they derive a lot pleasure from moving and passing the basketball and playing together.

Systems win! Believe in your system, and then sell it to your players.

As players see themselves getting better through skill sessions, they will want to get in the gym more

If you don't feel you have something to prove every day, you'll never improve

False Hustle = cheap fouls, lunging, reaching, etc.

If I can't expect someone to be accountable off the floor, how can I expect them to guard a pick and roll? Or get a rebound?

We didn't do a good enough job of defending them in the first half. They were beating us off the dribble and creating opportunities to knock down the threes. In the second half, we did such a better job of keeping the ball out of the paint (for Kentucky).

Whether it said across their jersey Cinderella, George Mason or another team, for us our basketball team, it's just a matter of going out there playing. Our kids were feeling the same thing that George Mason kids were feeling. The feeling was not any different between teams.

These are the situations our guys need to be in for us to reach our full potential as a basketball team. I think a lot of people will focus on the last play, but you know what, with the way these guys battled, it's a shame to lose that way.

In my opinion, they are a better team this year than they were a year ago watching them on film. I would say that our basketball team is totally different.

I went off pretty good at halftime. I was getting frustrated watching balls go up from the 3-point line when guys are standing in the post with a 6-6 guy guarding them. They finally got the message.

I don't think that we have played against anyone with his size and athletic ability. He is very impressive because he is so skilled. He is a good passer which is impressive for a guy who is 7-foot-2. He runs, he catches and he alters shots. You just don't see a lot of players in college basketball like him. This will be a unique game for us to play against a guy like him.

Our basketball team this year has played with energy; they've played with passion and enthusiasm. And this time of year, those things will keep you around and keep you in the game, but they're not good enough to win the game.

He (Green) is so quick and so fast, he can get out and pressure the ball on defense, and he gets the ball and just goes, which makes everyone play at a different speed.

I look at who we're playing as a basketball team and don?t get wrapped up in what the perception is about their team. They're a very, very good basketball team that has beaten Connecticut, Michigan State, North Carolina.

For our basketball team, it was a tale of two halves. In the first half, our guys were very, very impatient on offense. We didn't have the ball movement and the player movement we needed to have. We had good ball movement and player movement and we shot 57 percent in the second half. If we would have played similar to that and rebounded like we did in the first half, it would have been a different game. We couldn't put it all together.

It's a new day, a new season, a new opportunity for both basketball teams.

No one likes losing, but it's great for our basketball team to go through this. It is great because they need this. I really believe the difference was our experience as a basketball team in relation to their experience.

Our guys have to be able to handle that pressure. There are a lot of distractions. There is a lot of tugging and a lot of things you have to deal with that are different from the regular season. I want them to enjoy where they are at because it is the pinnacle of college basketball to get to this point. At the same time, you have to keep the focus there and put yourself in position to play the best basketball.

Those are great for our basketball team. You hate to lose them. But our team has to go through this before they can reach their potential.

The complexion of college basketball has changed so much.

That's one of the things we talked about with our guys. How are we going to respond when we don't shoot well? Here was a night where we didn't shoot the ball well. This was a game where we had to grind it out and find a way to win.

The greatest equalizer in college basketball -- it doesn't make a difference about talent or who's better than who -- is the three-point line.

The 3-point line is a great equalizer in college basketball.

This team, starting the season, I felt had all the team makeup. Unselfishness. They wanted to learn, they wanted to work, they wanted to get better. I didn't know if we'd have the experience to win basketball games or enough basketball games because we'd never been there before.

We're just a basketball team that doesn't have a lot of depth right now. That's our biggest challenge.

They're so hard to get the ball inside against. But I felt if we could just get the ball up against the backboard, we had a good chance at getting offensive rebounds. It was good to see Al and Jo play the way they did.

Glen Davis is to college basketball and to this league what Shaquille O'Neal is to the NBA. There's nobody quite like him.

We did a much better job moving the ball inside out in the second half.

We didn't have the ball movement and the player movement that we had had in the course of the year. But I thought the defense and rebounding in the first half kept us somewhat close. I was pleasantly surprised that we were only down 11.

We had some better ball movement, some better player movement.

We have entered a stage right now in college basketball where 15 years ago, it would have been maybe totally no way George Mason could go to the Final Four. It just goes to show how many good coaches there are out there, how many good players there are out there. On any given night, anybody can beat anybody.

I would say that our basketball team is totally different. Every guy on our team is playing a completely different role than they did a year ago.

I would say that our basketball team is totally different.

I've never gotten into any of that stuff. If we win basketball games, our seed will continue to improve. If we don't win basketball games, our seed will not improve.

They play college basketball way they should play it. We're looking at this game as playing one of the best teams in the United States of America because that is what they are.

It was the first summer he had to get better. It's been a progression for him. There were times his freshman and sophomore year when he got the ball in the post and he was just looking to pass it back out.

He runs, he catches and he alters shots. You just don't see a lot of players in college basketball like him.

I know a lot of people are so excited for George Mason. It's great for college basketball. Believe me, I'm mesmerized.

Georgia is a basketball team that's much improved from the 3-point line. There's no question that offensively they are a lot more explosive than they were a year ago.

I don't think basketball has ever been an afterthought, at least since I've been here. In the Southeast, in terms of enthusiasm and excitement, it's for football. In Kentucky and Indiana, it's for basketball. I understand that and Billy Donovan isn't changing that culture. ... But I think our program has gotten respect.

He's probably never going to get to a point where he feels great the rest of the season. But I think his confidence level is high. It's good to see him take the amount of shots he took. He put up 11 3s on the road. It was great to see him confidently shoot the basketball and it was great to see him move to the next shot, even when he missed a couple in a row.

Tonight, we won because of our defense and they didn't shoot the ball particularly well. I would say it was a combination, that we did at times challenge their shots, and there were maybe also some shots they just didn't knock down.

It was great to see him shoot the basketball and let it go with the confidence he did. The biggest thing I look at with Lee is the confidence level he's shooting the ball with. Tonight, he was just letting it go and shooting it with a great deal of confidence.

He was a great guy. It was such a tragedy, what happened. He touched a lot of lives. I know with St. Francis, he and (athletic director) Randy Maris had a lot of plans, he wanted to give Bud the chance to build a basketball program and unfortunately it didn't work out. At least his family, his kids, will have something they can hold to and remember him by.